Tuesday, February 4, 2014

REVIEW: Halo Headbands (& GIVEAWAY)

I've seen Halo Headband at a few Race Expos I had been to recently, so figured I had to check them out. Their booth normally has a mannequin head with "sweat" coming down into the "runner's" face and another head with a Halo Headband product showing how their technology prevents the sweat from getting in your eyes, as well as how the material wicks the sweat off of your body and helps it evaporate quickly from the fabric.

I reached out to Nick Holslag, one of the partners at Halo Headband, who was super generous and sent me MULTIPLE options to test and review.

I was sent a Halo II Pullover, their best selling headband, in Aqua. I LOVE the color of it. Not only do I think it is super cute (a HUGE benefit in my book), but it also does exactly what it says it will (more on that later)!

I was also sent a Sport Visor. I was most interested in trying the visor because I had never tried one before. If you have seen any of my running pictures, for the most part I run with some type of headband (to keep my crazy fly-away hairs tamed and the sweat off of my face as best as possible) and sunnies. I have run a couple races (specifically the runDisney events that have starting times BEFORE the sun rises) that I know I will need some way to keep the sun out of my eyes once it comes up, but obviously don't need the sun glasses for the entire race. A visor would work perfectly in that situation and I wanted to see if the theory would hold true in reality.

Oops, my visor seemed to block a bit of my hubby's face while we were waiting for the San Diego Holiday Half to start ;)

Nick also included a couple of the Hairbands - a larger 1" version in white and a smaller 1/2" version in blue.

Walt and I found this guy walking the streets after we ran the Santa Mile and had to snap a shot with him.

I am blessed to live in Southern California (don't worry, I paid my dues, living in the frozen tundra of Michigan for the first 21 years of my life and now paying a HIGH Sunshine Tax to stay here). This means two things: First, it is SUNNY... MOST OF THE YEAR. Second, it is WARM... MOST OF THE YEAR. These two facts mean that I need to find some way to keep the sun and sweat out of my eyes. Halo Headband products do just that!

I was a little hesitant at first, not sure if the "Sweat Block Seal" would actually work as it said it would - but it really did! I have gone on multiple runs wearing all of the different Halo Headband products and never once have I had to wipe the sweat from my face (and yes, this might be too much information, but here goes, I SWEAT LIKE A PIG, so anything to keep me from having to wipe my face multiple times during a run or race is AMAZING in my book).

I think my favorite piece that I received was either the Sport Visor or the Halo II Pullover. The visor DEFINITELY is a great option for those runs where your eyes will need protection from the sun (and glare). The visor stayed in place and was extremely comfortable to wear. I didn't need to readjust it during my runs at all and without a doubt it kept the sun out of my eyes (even when running almost directly into it while it was setting one day). The pullover headband was also a favorite of mine amongst the products Nick sent. It was thick (which gives more surface area for the sweat to evaporate off of), colorful (always a plus in my mind), cute, and kept me cool!

PS Halo Headband is a local company, which I LOVE! (Being local - along with being an AWESOME product - is probably another reason why I see them at most of the Race Expos I attend ;) Not to mention, they deal with the same Sunny San Diego issues I do and needed to find a solution to the sun and sweat problem.)

All-in-all I give the Halo Headband products TWO THUMBS UP (and two happy, non-burning eyes)!

And now YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO WIN A HALO HEADBAND. Nick was kind enough to offer up one of their new BRIGHT COLOR Products to one of my lucky readers, HOW KICK-BUTT IS THAT?! You will be able to select either the Bright Green, Bright Orange, or Bright Pink color in either the Halo Headband Tie Version or Halo II Pullover Version. [AND YOU KNOW HOW I LOVE ME SOME BRIGHT COLORS?!]

Make sure to enter the giveaway below (FYI some of the entry options are available DAILY for a better chance to win - so enter now and enter often)!

I picked up the Halo Sport Hat at the Disneyland Half Marathon expo last year, and it performed perfectly. That was one of the most humid events I've ever participated in and I was sweating buckets. Normally I suffer from getting sweat in my eyes, but that hat worked flawlessly and made my run so much more enjoyable.